I find many unfamiliar phrases in readers' comments on the statements of political figures and articles on news sites these days. I can't tell if they are accepted usage. Comment posters could be native English speakers or non-native speakers. I cannot judge, and it is frustrating.
In The Washington Post’s “Comment of Today” (May 13), I came across the phrase, he is a proven commodity. The comment was in response to Chris Cillizza's "The most eventful week of the 2012 Republican primary race":
Put the pieces together and Ron Paul
has a very good chance of winning the
Republican nomination. The GOP is
suffering from an enthusiasm gap with
the rest of their 2012 possibilities.
No one excites the base like Ron Paul.
And he is a proven commodity in terms
of raising funds and knowing the ropes
of running for president.
I understand “a proven commodity” is a metaphor, but can a person be called a commodity? Is the expression, he is a proven commodity normal American English that I can use to describe any of my friends in conversation with my peers over a drink?
Best Answer
Google shows the phrase started to be used as a description for people in the early 1990s, though almost exclusively in the realm of professional sports. It may have first been used in boxing:
References to people as "proven commodities" is still quite rare, but you will find examples of it, as you did, outside of sports lingo.
It's significant that this objectifying language originated in sports jargon given the history of race relations in America and how this has intersected with professional sports.